June Book Review {07.02.25}

Hello and happy Wednesday friends! I hope July is off to a great start for you and to those here in the United States I hope you have fun plans for the upcoming holiday weekend. 

For this post, I am sharing all the books that I read in the month June. This month I finished 10 and it's actually less than I read last year in June. But overall, I'm psyched with the 10 I finished given a few of the things that happened last month. 

If you want to get any of these books for yourself, click on the picture or the name of the book below and it will take you to Amazon where you can buy the book for yourself. Heads up: I am an Amazon Associate so if you purchase with my link I could make a small commission.

So without further adieu...here's my June 2025 book review.

Book #1: Let's Call Her Barbie

Synopsis: 
She was only eleven-and-a-half inches tall, but she would change the world. Barbie is born in this bold new novel by USA Today bestselling author Renée Rosen.

When Ruth Handler walks into the boardroom of the toy company she co-founded and pitches her idea for a doll unlike any other, she knows what she’s setting in motion. It might just take the world a moment to catch up.

In 1956, the only dolls on the market for little girls let them pretend to be mothers. Ruth’s vision for a doll shaped like a grown woman and outfitted in an enviable wardrobe will let them dream they can be anything.

As Ruth assembles her team of creative rebels—head engineer Jack Ryan who hides his deepest secrets behind his genius and designers Charlotte Johnson and Stevie Klein, whose hopes and dreams rest on the success of Barbie’s fashion—she knows they’re working against a ticking clock to get this wild idea off the ground.

In the decades to come—through soaring heights and devastating personal lows, public scandals and private tensions— each of them will have to decide how tightly to hold on to their creation. Because Barbie has never been just a doll—she’s a legacy.

My Thoughts:

My first book of the month was an easy five stars for me. I always loved the history of Barbie and this book does a good job giving us the story about the creation of Barbie. If you like historical books, I would definitely recommend checking out this one. 

 

Book # 2: The Butcher and the Wren

Synopsis: 
Something dark is lurking in the Louisiana bayou: a methodical killer with a penchant for medical experimentation is hard at work completing his most harrowing crime yet, taunting the authorities who desperately try to catch up.

But forensic pathologist Dr. Wren Muller is the best there is. Armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of historical crimes, and years of experience working in the Medical Examiner's office, she's never encountered a case she couldn't solve. Until now. Case after case is piling up on Wren's examination table, and soon she is sucked into an all-consuming cat-and-mouse chase with a brutal murderer getting more brazen by the day.

An addictive read with straight-from-the-morgue details only an autopsy technician could provide, The Butcher and the Wren promises to ensnare all who enter.

My Thoughts: 
I absolutely loved this book. Alaina Urquhart did a fantastic job of creating a story that was entertaining, mind boggling and just so exciting. I absolutely cannot wait to read the second book. If you like psychological, serial killer books, I would 100% recommend this one.

 

Book #3: The Strawberry Patch Pancake House

Synopsis:
As a renowned chef, single-dad Archer never planned on moving to a small town, let alone running a pancake restaurant. But Dream Harbor needs a new chef, and Archer needs a community to help raise his daughter, Olive.
Iris has never managed to hold down a job for more than a few months. So when Mayor Kelly suggests Archer is looking for a nanny, and Iris might be available, she shudders at the thought. But in need of money she reluctantly agrees.

As Archer and Iris get used to their new roles, is it possible that they might have more in common than they first thought, or is Olive just determined to play match-maker…

My Thoughts: 

This was my third book in the Pumpkin Spice Cafe series and it is my second favorite so far. The story was very cute and I really enjoyed how everything came together. I actually skipped over the third one to do a buddy read with my friend and I am so glad we did the buddy read.

Book #4: My Friends

Synopsis: 

"The world is full of miracles, but none greater than how far a young person can be carried by someone else's belief in them."

Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of a wide expanse of sea. But Louisa, soon to be eighteen years old and an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise. She is determined to find out the story behind these three enigmatic figures.

More than two decades before, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up every morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that, after a chance encounter in an alleyway, will unexpectedly be placed into Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to discover how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more anxious she becomes about what she'll find. Louisa's complicated life is proof that happy endings are sometimes possible, but they don't always take the form we expect them to.

My Thoughts:

I absolutely LOVED this book. I am typically not a fiction reader, but Fredrick Backman has a special place in my heart. The story is so heartfelt and brought me so many laughs, smiles and tears. I highly recommend this one. 

 

Book #5: Little Stranger

Synopsis: 

OWNING HER IS ALL HE EVER WANTED

She betrayed him, and now he wants revenge against the foster sister who became his forbidden obsession the second he laid eyes on her. After she sends him to prison for years, he’s free and ready to haunt her.

Everything about Olivia belongs to Malachi Vize.

Her mind

Her body

Her soul

Her fear

Her pain

On Halloween night, he can no longer lurk in the shadows. All he has left to own is her heart, even if he needs to take it.

This story comes with extremely triggering content. Please read the "Content Warning" page.

My Thoughts:

I have been slowly making my way into dark romance and I have to say, this one was not it for me. There were moments in the book that I enjoyed, but overall I just left the book feeling yucky. I know for some people, this will be a great book, it just was not it for me.

 

Book #6: Home is Where the Bodies Are

Synopsis:

After their mother passes, three estranged siblings reunite to sort out her estate. Beth, the oldest, never left home. She stayed with her mom, caring for her until the very end. Nicole, the middle child, has been kept at arm's length due to her ongoing battle with a serious drug addiction. Michael, the youngest, lives out of state and hasn't been back to their small Wisconsin town since their father ran out on them seven years before.

While going through their parents' belongings, the siblings stumble upon a collection of home videos and decide to revisit those happier memories. However, the nostalgia is cut short when one of the VHS tapes reveals a night back in 1999 that none of them have any recollection of. On screen, their father appears covered in blood. What follows is a dead body and a pact between their parents to get rid of it, before the video abruptly ends.

Beth, Nicole, and Michael must now decide whether to leave the past in the past or uncover the dark secret their mother took to her grave.

My Thoughts: 

Okay, I have to say that I thought I figured out whodunnit, but then I was blindsided at the end of the book when the killer was revealed. Definitely a great, quick and entertaining read. Highly recommend.

 

Book #7: Searching for Sunshine

Synopsis: 

You know what they say— when everything’s falling apart, move to the beach and marry the grumpy boat captain you haven’t seen in over a decade.

After losing both my teaching job in the city and my grandmother, I feel like I have no idea what to do with my life. If that isn’t bad enough, I just found out my grandmother left me with one more challenge— the only way I can take over the hotel where I spent every summer growing up is by finding a husband for the next year.

I’m devastated, but when Wyatt Robinson finds me crying in my car, he proposes a solution I don’t know how to say no to. It’s been less than twenty-four hours since I arrived back in Crestbrook Cove, and suddenly I’m married to a man who definitely has gotten a lot hotter since the last time I saw him, and I’m now responsible for not one but two failing local businesses.

Between organizing epic bachelorette weekends, renovating the High Tide Hideaway Hotel, and giving Wyatt’s charter boat business a much-needed makeover, I’ve got more than enough to keep me busy until next summer. The only problem? The more time I spend with Wyatt, the more I’m convinced that a year with him won’t ever be enough, and I don’t think either of us is ready to admit that this marriage might not be as fake as we planned.

My Thoughts:

I was lucky enough to be selected to read an ARC of this book and I really enjoyed the story. It's a fun romance book that deals with big life changes, childhood friends to lovers and supportive best friends. Definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a fun romance read.

 

Book #8: The Sublet 

Synopsis: 

Anne is barely keeping it together. A frazzled ghostwriter and aspiring novelist, she juggles nine-year-old twins and a listless marriage from an overcrowded Manhattan apartment, spreading herself thinner each day. Just as Anne is about to give up on her dreams, she lands her biggest client Melody Wells.

Melody paints a picture of serenity and empowerment in the lavender haze of her visualization workshops—however, the one thing she can’t manifest are the pages her publisher is demanding for her new motivational book. Enter Anne.

As Melody invites Anne deeper into her magical world, Anne finds herself working impossibly long days and traveling far beyond her comfort zone.

When Melody passes along a lead on a spacious sublet complete with East River views, built-in closets, and three bedrooms, Anne can’t believe her luck. Melody seems to know just what her family needs. But as small, unsettling incidents begin to accumulate, Anne starts to wonder what price she’s willing to pay for the good life.

My Thoughts:

This was just okay. I read it for a prompt as part of a readathon and it met the prompt. I can't pinpoint exactly what made it meh for me, just wasn't my favorite. It still got four stars because it was an interesting concept, just didn't feel like I walked away with anything significant.

 

Book #9: Shiver

Synopsis: 

In this propulsive locked-room thriller debut, a reunion weekend in the French Alps turns deadly when five friends discover that someone has deliberately stranded them at their remote mountaintop resort during a snowstorm.

When Milla accepts an off-season invitation to Le Rocher, a cozy ski resort in the French Alps, she's expecting an intimate weekend of catching up with four old friends. It might have been a decade since she saw them last, but she's never forgotten the bond they forged on this very mountain during a winter spent fiercely training for an elite snowboarding competition.

Yet no sooner do Milla and the others arrive for the reunion than they realize something is horribly wrong. The resort is deserted. The cable cars that delivered them to the mountaintop have stopped working. Their cell phones--missing. And inside the hotel, detailed instructions await them: an icebreaker game, designed to draw out their secrets. A game meant to remind them of Saskia, the enigmatic sixth member of their group, who vanished the morning of the competition years before and has long been presumed dead.

Stranded in the resort, Milla's not sure what's worse: the increasingly sinister things happening around her or the looming snowstorm that's making escape even more impossible. All she knows is that there's no one on the mountain she can trust. Because someone has gathered them there to find out the truth about Saskia...someone who will stop at nothing to get answers. And if Milla's not careful, she could be the next to disappear...

My Thoughts: 

I actually have had this book for four years and totally forgot about it. Thankfully, the readathon I am doing had a prompt to read a book with a chilling cover and this was a Once Upon a Book Club pick so I got prizes for the books as I read through it. The story was good and entertaining, just at some points felt a smidge unrealistic. 

Book #10: A Fate Inked in Blood

Synopsis:

A shield maiden blessed by the gods battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king—while also fighting her growing desire for his fiery son—in this Norse-inspired fantasy romance from the bestselling author of The Bridge Kingdom series.

Bound in an unwanted marriage, Freya spends her days gutting fish, but dreams of becoming a warrior. And of putting an axe in her boorish husband’s back.

Freya’s dreams abruptly become reality when her husband betrays her to the region’s jarl, landing her in a fight to the death against his son, Bjorn. To survive, Freya is forced to reveal her deepest secret: She possesses a drop of a goddess’s blood, which makes her a shield maiden with magic capable of repelling any attack. It was foretold such a magic would unite the fractured nation of Skaland beneath the one who controls the shield maiden’s fate.

Believing he’s destined to rule Skaland as king, the fanatical jarl binds Freya with a blood oath and orders Bjorn to protect her from their enemies. Desperate to prove her strength, Freya must train to fight and learn to control her magic, all while facing perilous tests set by the gods. The greatest test of all, however, may be resisting her forbidden attraction to Bjorn. If Freya succumbs to her lust for the charming and fierce warrior, she risks not only her own destiny but the fate of all the people she swore to protect.

My Thoughts: 

I love this. I love this. I love this. Such a great book and I cannot wait to read the second one. Thankfully, I already have it on my shelf and can start it immediately. 5 stars.

 

Well that's all for today's book review! I hope you found a new book to add to your reading list for the future.

Okay what should I read next? I'm always on the hunt for book recommendations and am fairly open to all stories.

 

Have a wonderful day,
Jackie

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